Page 222 of Enigma: The Complete Collection
My gaze floats to the bedside table holding the turned-off and most likely dead cell Isaac gave me last week. Even beyond pissed, my heart yearns to know Isaac isn’t hurt like my dreams portray. I loved him from the moment I crashed into him at the airport, so I can’t just switch off my feelings no matter how hard I pray.
Instead of making a costly mistake I can’t take back, I put on my dressing gown and pad into Regan’s kitchen. When Hugo and I flew back to Ravenshoe, I begged him to take me to Harlow’s apartment. My pleas fell on deaf ears. Hugo said we either go to Regan’s house or he’d pay for a hotel out of his salary.
Isaac pays his staff very well, but I didn’t want Hugo to pay for my stubbornness, so, with reluctance, I walked back into Regan’s apartment, ignoring the door opposite the one I was entering. I’d love nothing more than to scratch my nails down Clara’s disgusting face, but since that would have her believing she won, I’ve kept a cool, collective approach—for now.
I fill a glass of water to the brim before gulping it down, hoping it will dislodge the lump in my throat. The water eradicates the dryness in my mouth, but it does little to alleviate the ache in my chest.
When something suddenly moves in the corner of the room, I startle. I clutch my chest, which is struggling to contain the mad beat of my heart. “You scared the shit out of me.”
Hugo grins before pushing off the wall his shoulder is propped against. He’s wearing a pair of dangerously low-riding blue cotton pants. I say dangerously low as nearly every portion of his impressive ‘V’ muscle is on display.
His lips tug into an uneasy grin as he takes in the sweat-drenched collar of my shirt and wide, panicked eyes. “Another nightmare?”
I nod before sharing the details of my dream. It’s another tactic Dr. Clarke believes will alleviate the stranglehold my nightmares have on me.
Hugo remains quiet, nodding at specific parts of the story while cringing at others. “If it makes you feel any better, Isaac is safe. I was talking to him before I heard your door open.”
Relief is the first thing that washes through me. It’s closely followed by worry. Why was Isaac calling Hugo so early in the morning?
As if he heard my inner monologue, Hugo says, “He was calling to make sure you hadn’t had another nightmare. He does that same thing every morning.”
“And what did you tell him?”
Even though I already know his answer, I want Hugo to spell it out for me. He’s loyal to a fault, but I don’t believe his loyalty to Isaac is solely because Isaac pays his staff well. My intuition is telling me it’s much deeper than that.
Hugo rubs at a kink in his neck. “I said you were sleeping well.” He drops his hands before intertwining his fingers. “He hung up before I heard your door open.”
“Are you planning to call him the instant I go back into my room?”
“Nah.” He flashes me a mischievous grin. “I’ll wait at least a minute or two.”
His chuckles bounce around the kitchen when my elbow becomes friendly with his ribs. After a final stink-eye, I head back to my room. I don’t even make it into the hallway before overhearing part of Hugo’s phone conversation with Isaac. “She’s okay… it didn’t seem as bad this time. Yeah, I will. She has another appointment with Avery at ten this morning. I promise you, Isaac, nothing will happen to her.”
I shower and dress before hurrying out of Regan’s guest bedroom. Because it took me so long to settle after my nightmare, I overslept my alarm, and I’m now running late for my second appointment with Dr. Clarke.
My quick steps falter halfway between my room and the entryway when I spot Alex standing by the table housing my satchel and the iPhone I purchased Tuesday morning. Snarling, I quicken my steps. No words spill from his mouth when I dig my iPhone out of my satchel so I can search for the bug he no doubt planted.
“I didn’t plant the bugs in your phone, Isabelle.” His admission is backed up by my phone coming out of my investigation without evidence, but I still don’t trust him. “The first time I heard about your phone being tapped was when you mentioned it at the courthouse last week.”
“Then how did you find out about Isaac’s private residence?”
Isaac said the house wasn’t in his name. No one but Hugo and I knew about it. So, unless Alex was tracking my phone, he wouldn’t have known about Isaac’s private oasis.
Alex’s eyes shift to the other side of the room. Following his gaze, I see Hugo loitering in the living area. His stance is solid, and his livid gaze is raptly planted on Alex. “I followed you there.”
My eyes snap back to his, expecting his focus to still be locked on Hugo. I take a step back when I discover his eyes are directed at me.
“Me?” Who knew one little word would take so much effort to deliver?
Alex nods. “You and Isaac. I lost your tail for nearly fifteen minutes when I followed you from his apartment one night, so you could imagine my surprise when I found his Bugatti pulled over on the side of the highway on my way home.” He looks minutes from being ill. “I put a tracker on his car when the windows got a little foggy.”
Oh my god. It is my fault. That was the night Isaac took me to his private home. I was upset about discovering we’d just left hisfuck pad, so Isaac pulled over so he could comfort me. Although I didn’t lead the Bureau to him directly, I did in a way.
“If you knew about his private residence for so long, why did you take months to request a search warrant?”
A twitch impinges Alex’s top lip. “Because back then, we had nothing on Isaac.” My smile turns into a frown when he quickly adds on, “I saidback then, Isabelle,” His tone reeks of arrogance. “The search we conducted on was avalidsearch warrant with avery validreason.”
Before he can display anymore of his arrogance, we’re interrupted. “You were not invited into my home under the pretense of discussing matters pertaining to Isaac Holt.” The cuff of Regan’s designer shirt tickles my wrist when she moves to stand next to me. “You said you had information that would assist my client. If that statement is false, I suggest you leave my premises immediately before I file an injunction against you.”
